Superman: The Ark of Krypton
Chapter 16
By
Jason Richard
Lois ran her article the next day, naturally.
Steely Battle in Downtown Metropolis:
Yesterday afternoon Metropolis citizens were sent running in terror as a giant mechanized weapon was seen stomping through the city streets, leaving an immense amount of property damage in it's wake. It also caused incalculable damage to Metropolis City bank, and would have gotten away were it not for the heroic efforts of the city's new superhero, Superman.
In an incredible display of strength the flying vigilante took on the robot hand to hand, giving the massive device a run for its money. The robot in question has been confirmed to be a stolen prototype designed by Lexcorp, so it seems even Earth's finest technology is no match for Superman. A man who can punch metal and win. A true Man of Steel.
When asked if Superman made local law enforcement obsolete, every cop at the scene declined to comment.
…
Clark took a deep breath as he walked into the Daily Planet main office, Elvis Music coming from earbuds in Perry White's personal office. Clark had already retrieved the alien artifact from the ocean before coming here, and now he only had to get the one from Lexcorp.
It did occur to him that he would effectively be stealing the artifact. A large part of him wasn't comfortable with that. He tried to reason that it was from this Krypton place, so technically it belonged to him...but he was still having trouble with the idea that this Krypton planet belonged to him, especially since he knew so little about it, so that line of reasoning barely took.
The only other thing that might make the idea more palpable was whatever Lexcorp planned to do with it. After all, if they were as crooked as some believed they could be using it for something illegal. All he knew was that he had to find it.
To do that he would need Lois Lane's help, though he really didn't relish the idea of asking her.
But nevertheless walked up to Lois's desk, readjusted his glasses, and said, "Hey Lois, have a minute?"
"Careful asking me that," said Lois with a sly grin as she typed at her desk. "I might just look at my watch and take it literally."
"You know what I mean," said Clark, trying to hide his impatience. He wanted to get this done. "I know this Superman is the big news story of the day, but are you still interested in getting dirt on Lexcorp?"
"Let me save you some time in the future," said Lois, turning around in her chair. "The answer to that question is always going to be yes. Are you suggesting a team up?"
"Yes and no," said Clark. "I have another story I think has potential, it's just related to Lexcorp...here."
He handed her the information he had officially gotten on the crashed ship everyone was looking for. He didn't share his connection to it, but felt he gave her just enough to get her interested.
"Here's the thing," said Clark. "Everyone's looking for this ship, and while no one knows for certain I have it on good authority that people suspect it's extraterrestrial in origin. Now aliens might have seemed far fetched recently, but I think with Superman in town we can afford to take the tabloids a little more seriously...if you catch my meaning."
"I think I see what you're getting at," said Lois, still looking over the files. "If Lexcorp has info on this ship, and is trying to develop technology from it, then he's essentially selling extraterrestrial technology. That's going to turn a lot of heads, which could be a chance to catch him selling to illegal clients, like gangs or terrorists."
"No one could accuse you of being slow on the uptake Miss Lane," said Clark. "You get your story taking down Lexcorp, and I get a story about an alien ship...and we'll compete for the front page afterwards. How does that sound?"
"Clark," said Lois, looking over the files gleefully. "I don't care what page it's on. So long as I get this story, I'm good. You've got a deal. I'll call my contacts and see about getting us into Lexcorp."
"Thanks," said Clark, relieved to get this question out of the way. Suddenly he got curious about something, and while he figured he was going to regret it, he asked a question.
"Why so keen on taking down Lexcorp anyway?" asked Clark.
The question surprised Lois. No one had ever really asked her that before. It wasn't as if any decent person needed a reason to take out someone so obviously corrupt as Lex Luthor. She did, however, have a reason for her doing this so passionately.
Her father was an army general, and as kids Lois and her sister Lucy were brought up to follow in his footsteps. He came from a family that idolized the military, and it showed. He constantly went on and on about how they protected their homeland from enemies and made hard sacrifices that needed to be made so that others wouldn't have to. Apparently he figured that Lois and Lucy had to though. He really been gunning for them to join the military to, and Lois, for most of her life, hated that.
Not that she had a problem with the military itself. She did respect what they did and would happily thank them for her service, it was just the way her father had tried to get her to enlist. She only word she could come up with was nagging, and that never sat well with her.
However, something of what her father said about such work did get through to her a little. While she wouldn't be taking up physical arms against bad people, she could take up intellectual arms. She'd fight evil alright, she'd just do it on her own terms. That's why, as a reporter, she considered it her duty to blow the whistle on corruption wherever she found it.
And now she had found it at Lexcorp. If she could just prove it…
But she wasn't going to share any of this with the rookie, so she said, "I just want to see the look on Luthor's face when I finally bust him."
Clark laughed and said, "I'll make sure Jimmy has his camera ready so you can post it on the wall."
"How sweet," said Lois. "But I should warn you not to be too disappointed if my story is the one that makes the front page. Just a warning. Now get out of my space. I've got work to do."
Lois turned back to her computer and Clark walked off, not needing to be told twice.
…
Lex rarely called Manheim from his office, but this was a special occasion. As far as Luthor knew the experiment, where Rudy Jones was the subject, had gone forth as planned. Naturally he was eager for details.
"So?" said Lex over the phone. "How did it go?"
"He fell for it," said Manheim as he talked on the phone in his own office. "And while I don't know if it worked, it did something. According to my the lawyer we sent to represent Mr. Jones he looks like a real freak a nature."
"So long as his ability can be engineered against the other freak of nature in Metropolis," said Lex. "I don't care what he looks like."
"Not to worry," said "Manheim, we're arranging for Rudy to through more experiments when he's not in court. Boss...I gotta ask...I may be no scientist, but what are you looking for in this experiment? What do you expect to happen when Rudy Jones comes into contact with another living thing?"
He heard Luthor chuckle over the phone before replying, "Let's just say...if this experiment is successful, I hope to harness Superman's power for us. Imagine what we could do with that."
"The ability to punch a tank and win?" asked Manheim, a grin across his face. "I'm in...just as long as there are no costumed capes involved."
"I wouldn't dream of making you look that ridiculous," said Luthor, chuckling some more. "Just be ready. The arrival of Superman is going to change the world...though not in the way everyone thinks if I have any say about it."
And with that he hung up.
...
Hey guys, as always thanks for reading. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be out of town for the Holidays, so my writing will be on Hiatus for the next few weeks. I did want to get a little bit out before I left though, as well as my promise that I will be back shortly after the holiday season. Again, thanks for all your kind words for this story. It really means a lot to me.
See you soon.
Jason.